The number of worldwide terrorist attacks fueled by religious extremism in recent years, including the November 2015 Paris attacks and the 2016 Nice attack, have posed a severe threat to international order and regional stability, scholars at a recent seminar said.

With violent fundamentalism continuing to spread across the globe, an academic exchange between religious experts in Singapore and China was recently held in Shanghai.

Co-organized by Nanyang Technological University's Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, the Shanghai Association of Religious Studies and the Institute of Religious Studies under the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, the event raised many points and possible solutions.

Yan Kejia, president of Shanghai Association of Religious Studies and Institute of Religious Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that there are "two manifestations of religious extremism," one being the brutal onslaughts by Islamic extremists such as ISIS.

The second is a more "hidden manifestation" of organized religion and cult, such as Falun Gong and the Church of Almighty God, which Yan said "take their followers money, conduct brainwashing and incite people to conduct anti-social activities."

Mohammad Alami Musa, head of Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies Programme, Nanyang Technological University's Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, pointed out that besides targeting Muslims, "other cults in the coat of Christianity and Buddhism" should also be given great attention. He said that Singapore is very alert to this and trying its best to cope with religious extremism.

Scholars from both countries agreed that effective international cooperation mechanisms for nations to join together in cracking down on religious extremism should become a political priority.

More research on the elimination of negative influences in religions need to be conducted as well, and religious organizations must take a more proactive role to find active solutions to guard against extremism of their members.